By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 15, 2021

While the proposal for a global ceasefire during a disease pandemic has done the opposite of catching on, there are a few small signs of sanity and even of successful activism. While most big military spenders (including the super-mega-biggest one) have increased or kept their spending steady, the SIPRI numbers show a serious reduction from 2019 to 2020 in military read more

If you don’t know much about Japan (and neither does Rahm Emanuel, the reported nominee for U.S. ambassador) a few relevant facts are these:

1) It’s right next to China which much of the U.S. government is eager for some sort of fight with.

2) Its Constitution (imposed by the U.S.) bans war, and the U.S. has been hard at work pressuring Japan to violate that bit since about 10 seconds after it was adopted.

3) It has colonized and abuses a separate set of islands, including Okinawa, where read more

PRESSCAST · EP49 – David Swanson on America's thirst for war

The only positions I ever get excited about in U.S. politics are the ones that Republicans pretend Democrats hold.

The beef one is no exception.

Lately, Republicans have been pretending not just that Democrats want the usual array of things I wish someone would actually act to institute (a guaranteed income, a decent minimum wage, single-payer healthcare, a Green New Deal, a major shift to progressive taxation, defunding militarism, making college free, etc.) — THE HORROR OF IT! — but read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 3, 2021

This year’s annual update to World BEYOND War’s Mapping Militarism project uses a completely new mapping system developed by our Technology Director Marc Eliot Stein. We think it does a better job than ever of displaying the data of warmaking and peacemaking on maps of the world. And it makes use of new data reporting on the latest trends.

When you visit the Mapping Militarism site, you read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 2, 2021

There are a number of hurdles to clear before you can get people to support banning armed drones or surveillance drones. One is the existence of good drones. It seems silly, but it is the number one cause of failures to pass local resolutions against drones. Unlike some of the hurdles, this one is fact-based. It’s simple-minded, but fact-based. There really are drones for fire and rescue and science research and toys and lovers of technology read more

Ten years ago, when RootsAction.org was created to advance progressive politics online without fear or favor, various disastrous global trends (climate collapse, militarization, wealth concentration) were less advanced, but progressive activists in the United States lacked the proven tool for success that RootsAction has become, both for changing public policy and for shifting public discourse.

Ten years ago, progressive steps in Congress and state governments were far less common. The death penalty wasn’t on the way out. Automatic voter registration wasn’t on the way in. Talk of a Green New Deal was rare. Even progressive groups didn’t talk much about moving money from police and the military to human and environmental needs 10 years ago, apart from RootsAction.

As of April 4, 2021, RootsAction has been at work for 10 years. The successes we’ve led the way on read more